Aizawl, Jun 17 : Capitalising on the visit of the Union ministry of home affairs’
officer-on-special duty (OSD) to the state, the Mizoram government on
Saturday underlined the need for security-related expenditure (SRE) in
Mizoram, which is sandwiched between Myanmar and Bangladesh.

At a meeting here, Mizoram’s chief secretary informed the OSD,
Anil Goswami, that the SRE from the ministry of home affairs excluded
Mizoram on the ground that it was a peaceful state.

However, as Mizoram
shares long porous borders with Myanmar and Bangladesh and
insurgency-hit states in the Northeast, the state is very much in need
of the fund like any other state in the region, if not more. “The
non-receipt of SRE has hampered security measures in Mizoram,” the chief
secretary told Goswami.

In response, officials said, Goswami assured him about taking all
steps to include Mizoram in the list of SRE recipients. Intelligence
sources said that Mizoram is a route for cross-border trafficking of
arms as was evident from a recent haul of 33 AK-47 rifles.

In the important meeting with the visiting
Union Home Secretary, Chief Secretary of Mizoram Mrs. L.Tochhawng
apprised the latter that as Mizoram shares long boundary line with
Myanmar and Bangladesh, its security cannot be neglected, and so due to
non-receipt of ‘Security Related Expenditure’ (SRE) from the Home
Ministry, security works used to get diluted. Regarding the matters that
were apprised to him, Anil Goswami assured to look into the matter
immediately.

Amongst the crucial matters discussed in the meeting
with OSD Home also includes the fund requirement of 4th & 5th IR
Bn., strengthening of police, Bru repatriation and of the ongoing
construction of border fencing.

Visiting Anil Goswami also met Mizoram Governor Vakkom Purushothaman at his residence.
Anil told the Governor that he found Mizoram as a beautiful place which can be a tourists’ destination.

Later
in the evening, Mizoram Chief Minister Lalthanhawla stressed about
Security Related Expenditures (SRE) to the Union Secretary, besides
apprising him of the need to construct police quarters.